As the Wild arrive at one of the toughest stretches of their 2008-09 schedule, coach Jacques Lemaire insists his focus does not extend past tonight’s home game against the Carolina Hurricanes.

He’s probably the only one.

Here’s why: Two weeks from now, the Wild could be free falling out of playoff contention.

Ninth in the Western Conference going into Monday’s games and with Chicago, Calgary, San Jose and Detroit on the docket following the two-day Christmas break, Minnesota could be entering the make-or-break stretch for its playoff hopes.

Winger Marian Gaborik says the game against the Hurricanes is just the beginning.

“Not just tomorrow,” he said Monday, “but the next 10 games. We’ve got to get on a winning streak and try to be consistent. If we think we can pull it off later in the year, it’s not going to happen. March is very difficult, so we just have to get as many points as possible right now.”

In the throes of a 2-7-1 December slump, the Wild might not exactly be a team in crisis at Christmas. But on the horizon after playing Detroit is a four-game road trip to Colorado, Boston, Philadelphia and Columbus. There simply are no easy games between now and Jan. 10, especially for a team that lost 4-2 on Saturday to the St. Louis Blues, the last-place team in the West.

Winger Cal Clutterbuck said at times like this it’s difficult “to stay positive all the time,” but the players are working at it.

“Obviously you can’t be happy when you’ve lost seven of eight or six of seven, whatever it is,” he said. “After the game, if you lose and you’re outshot and disappointed, it’s worse every time. But then you come in the next day and think the harder we work to get out of this quicker, the better off we’re going to be, so I think that’s the mind-set.”

Lemaire believes the team’s situation calls for a philosophical take.

“As far as I’m concerned, there’s only one team we’re going to play: tomorrow. And then we’ll take care of the other ones,” he said.

Lemaire said the midseason stretch “is tough for everyone. It’s tough for us; it’s tough for other teams. You want to be as ready as possible, feel as good as possible, so you can play as well as possible.”

Not a big fan of the NHL’s mandated two-day break on Christmas Eve and Christmas, Lemaire says the Wild have little room for error and need the work more than the holiday feasts, shopping excursions and late nights with family and friends.

“The holidays are killers for certain teams,” he said. “You know, a team like us, we’ve got to play like it’s a playoff game. And it’s hard to be there during these days.”

The Wild’s road got no easier after a medical report was issued Monday on defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron. The lower body injury Bergeron suffered in a 4-1 win over the New York Islanders on Friday will keep him sidelined “for weeks, not days,” assistant general manager Tom Lynn said.

Injured forward Owen Nolan (leg) also remains out. Nolan has started skating on his own, and his status will be evaluated “in a week,” Lynn said.

The good news: Center Eric Belanger is expected back. Belanger was ill with pneumonia but skated at practice Monday at the Xcel Energy Center and said he should be OK to play against the Hurricanes.

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